Reel

A 250V-16A electrical wire on a reel

An irrigation reel with travelling sprinkler

A reel is an object around which lengths of another material (usually long and flexible) are wound for storage. Generally a reel has a cylindrical core and walls on the sides to retain the material wound around the core. In some cases the core is hollow, although other items may be mounted on it, and grips may exist for mechanically turning the reel.

Construction

The size of the core is dependent on several factors. A smaller core will obviously allow more material to be stored in a given space. However, there is a limit to how tightly the stored material can be wound without damaging it and this limits how small the core can be.

Other issues affecting the core size include:

• Mechanical strength of the core (especially with large reels)
• Acceptable turning speed (for a given rate of material moving on or off the reel a smaller core will mean that an almost empty reel has to turn faster)
• any functional requirements of the core e.g.
  • For a reel that must be mechanically turned the size of the grips that mount it on the mechanical turning device.
  • The size of the mountings needed to support the core during unwinding.
  • Anything mounted on the cores (e.g. the sockets on an extension reel)

With material such as photographic film that is flat and long but is relatively wide, the material generally is stored in successive single layers. In cases where the material is more uniform in cross-section (for example, a cable), the material may be safely wound around a reel that is wider than its width. In this case, several windings are needed to create a layer on the reel.

Uses

A badge reel

Examples include:

• A fishing reel is used on a fishing rod to wind the fishing line up
• Many audio recordings of the late 20th century (and some today) use reel-to-reel magnetic tape
• Kite lines are frequently operated from reels
• Specialized reels for holding tow line for hang glider, glider, and sailplane launching
• Laying of communications table use giant reels
• Winches wind cables on reels
• Webbing barriers that allow mobile post positions collect tensionally excess webbing
• Tow trucks hold steel cable on reels
• Garden hoses reeled solve hose kink problems
• Rope, wire and cable is often supplied on reels
• Badge reels are used to hold badges, ski passes and the like
• A cave diving reel is safety equipment used for running a guideline (also known as a distance line)^[1]

Motion picture terminology

35mm film reels and boxes

16mm empty film reel with its metal container

It is traditional to discuss the length of theatrical motion pictures in terms of "reels". The standard length of a 35 mm film reel is 1,000 feet (305 m), which runs approximately 11 minutes for sound film (24 frames per second)^[2] and slightly longer at silent film speed (which may vary from approximately 16 to 22 frames per second). Most films have visible cues which mark the end of the reel. This allows projectionists running reel-to-reel to change over to the next reel on the other projector.

A so-called "two-reeler" would have run about 20–24 minutes since the actual short film shipped to a movie theater for exhibition may have had slightly less (but rarely more) than 1,000 ft (305 m) on it. Most modern projectionists use the term "reel" when referring to a 2,000-foot (610 m) "two-reeler", as modern films are rarely shipped by single 1,000-foot (305 m) reels. A standard Hollywood movie averages about five 2000-foot reels in length.

The "reel" was established as a standard measurement because of considerations in printing motion picture film at a film laboratory, for shipping (especially the film case sizes) and for the size of the physical film magazine attached to the motion picture projector. Had it not been standardized (at 1,000 ft or 305 m of 35 mm film) there would have been many difficulties in the manufacture of the related equipment. A 16 mm "reel" is 400 feet (122 m). It runs, at sound speed, approximately the same amount of time (11–12 minutes) as a 1,000-foot (305 m) 35 mm reel.

A "split reel" is a motion picture film reel in two halves that, when assembled, hold a specific length of motion picture film that has been wound on a plastic core. Using a split reel allows film to be shipped or handled in a lighter and smaller form than film would on a "fixed" reel. In silent film terminology, two films on one reel.

As digital cinema catches on, the physical reel is being replaced by a virtual format called Digital Cinema Package, which can be distributed using any storage media (such as hard drives) or data transfer medium (such as the Internet or satellite links) and projected using a digital projector instead of a conventional movie projector.

Actors may submit a demo reel of their work to prospective employers, often in physical reel format.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reels, Film reels.